Enjoy the now….

When we would go back to visit my maternal grandparents it meant a few things. One, my diabetic grandmother would slip us money to go buy her doughnuts and we could “keep the change”(my cousin Chad and I were always to young and foolish not to know that you don’t go and buy a diabetic doughnuts). It meant picking raspberries while trying not to be stung by bees(Summer only). It meant breathing in the fumes of Vlassic pickles the couple nights I would stay at my cousins(the factory has since moved and sadly I miss that smell). It meant getting to swim in the mayor’s swimming pool(Summer only). And it meant the torture that was Sunday drives with my grandfather.
Oh how that man loved to get in a car and drive absolutely nowhere…for hours. Hours and hours. My uncle has this same trait but he is smart enough to sucker you in to a 5 hour trip to Duluth, Minnesota by saying we were going for the “best pie you ever tasted” and I am stupid enough to be lured by it. But my grandfather you had no choice. He said get in the car. We got in the car. For hours. Did I mention the hours part? Nothing can be more fun for a 10 year old then sitting in the back seat of a Oldsmobile listening to big band music and not being allowed to bring anything to do. It “took away from the scenery”. Ugh. Those car rides would draw out my morbid imagination. For with nothing to do and not really being involved in the adult conversation about second cousins and what not that I knew nothing about, my mind would wander. It would wander into all the different ways we could crash the car. Now keep in mind it was not totally morbid, as I never did kill anyone in my day dreaming. If the car was engulfed in a fiery inferno, I made sure in my mind to get everyone out of the car. Sometimes it was just a simple crash into a tree. Other times we would go over an embankment by swerving to miss a cow in the road and would launch off a big ravine in the Duke’s of Hazard style.
Though I hated those car rides so, they were really only the memories I had of my grandfather. He was a very quiet man. One who showed little emotion. He was the kind of man who would hug you but they whole time he was doing the side hug you knew he was thinking, “she’s touching me”. My grandfather ran the pharmacy in the town where my mother grew up(my aunt still works in that pharmacy). The town didn’t even have a stop sign(when they eventually got the one yellow blinking light in the middle of town, that was big news). My mother’s high school graduating class had 8 people(mine had 532). He usually spoke about 2 words to me when they would come out to visit or we would go there. Those two words were “uh-huh”. I would ramble on and on about something, and no matter what, I got the uh-huh. Despite all of that, I always knew he loved me.
When I was still in high school, my grandfather, a man who smoked most of his life and then switched to chew, developed pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic is not a kind cancer. Now before you say what cancer is?..none. However, some are more kind in the fact that they give you time to fight it. Pancreatic cancer tends to be quite aggressive and your prognosis is usually poor. This was the case of my grandfather. For just months after hearing his diagnosis, my grandfather was laid to rest.
What a horrible story you say. Yes and no. For of course, death is never a good thing, it did make me realize how very little I knew about him. Only years after he passed through stories told by my mom and uncle do I really know anything about him. Spend time with people now. Get to know people now. If you have a recipe that you always wanted to learn from your mother or grandmother go and have her teach it to you now. Appreciate the time you have with others even if it is just sitting in a car for hours at a time starring at miles and miles of farmland.

When I saw that Chris of Mele Cotte’s grandmother passed away from the same form of cancer my grandfather did, I knew I wanted to contribute something to the Cooking to Combat Cancer event. This Black Forest Chocolate Bundt Cake comes from Canadian Living and was chosen because my grandfather did love chocolate and I always used to see him eat cherries(I just remember the bowls of pits). I encourage you to participate in both this event as well as Barb’s A Taste of Yellow…there is still time to do both!

Preparation:
Grease and flour 10-cup Bundt pan; set aside. I used 6 mini Bundts.
In large bowl, beat butter with brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Into separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and sift again. Stir into butter mixture alternately with sour cream, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of sour cream. Stir in chocolate chips and cherries. Scrape into prepared pan.
Bake in center of 325°F oven until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour(about 30 minutes if you are making mini). Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. With knife, loosen rim of cake. Place rack on pan. Wearing oven mitts, grasp pan and rack; turn over. Lift off pan. Let cool completely. (Make-ahead: Wrap in plastic wrap and store for up to 2 days or freeze in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.) Dust with powdered sugar.

Canadian Living Magazine: December 2004

The glaze is just some melted cherry jam that my mom made with a little sifted powdered sugar. I didn’t actually pay attention to the amount…sorry.

Comments

Your cake looked so moist and enticing. I lost both my grandfathers and my dad who was very dear to me to cancer, one of them passing on from pancreatic cancer, therefore I know how scary cancer can be. I will definitely participate in the events.

Peabody, it is scary how our grandfather’s were similar! Maybe that is how they made men then.
I like the description of the town not having a stop sign. A hick town was a proper hick town! I remember walking behind some teenagers when I was about 11. They were hicks. How could I tell? One of them said, ‘Let’s go to The Bon Marche and ride the escalator!’
Yes, back in the olden days, escalators were dead cool.
Your cherry bundt sounds delicious.

Don’t know what to say first. You are so right. The car rides? I hear you! We would spend hours in the car on Sunday afternoons, allowed to bring a book but not allowed to read because of the scenery..which my mom would point out every 5 minutes or so. We were promised ice cream though. And that makes me think about my Dad, fighting prostrate cancer, we were there yesterday and I’m afraid things don’t look promising, but I’m not sure since they won’t say anything. Yes, now is the time although I rather do the ostrich thing at the moment.

Never was better advice given!!! Spend time with people now and don’t regret it when they’re gone if you can. This is a very touching story altogether and you have lovely memories, this cakes looks divine to and I am sure your grandfather is saying uh-huh in agreement looking down at it!

Peabody, this post really resonated with me. I have such fond memories of MY diabetic grandmother (she died when I was 6 years old), as well as my grandmother (who, at 91 years old, is STILL alive, thank goodness – seriously, he looks like he’s in his 70s and is quite “sharp”). I agree with you – it’s important to cherish the time that we have in life, and especially with our loved ones.

Actually I have never know any of my grandfathers.
Very nice and touching post.
One of our friends died from pancreatic. And it was so sad to see him get really ill in the end.
Cake looks super delicious

Peabody,
Thank you so much for participating and supporting CCC2! The cake looks irresistible.

This was a lovely posting from word one. I am thinkging that most of us who are fortunate to know/have known their grandparents can totally transport themselves in your words. â€œTook away from the sceneryâ€ – Ah!! I heard my grandfather’s voice so clearly. And, I remember my mom telling me that, on a girl trip to FL when she was young, she remembers crossing the street and thinking – wow, that looks like daddy’s car. It was! He told he they were in the mood for a “sunday stroll”. Those were the days!

My grandfather was “at arm length” much like this and I’m not sure I ever got much more than “um” from him.
This is just amazing chocolate cherry cake. I know Gorn would love it with the cherries.
And yes Peabody pancreatic is some of the fastest spreading and silent cancers that are.

My only memories of my grandfather are visiting him in the nursing home and bringing those dutch butter cookies that come in the blue tin. He called me Maria. Alzheimer’s is a tough thing to explain to a little girl. Those cookies always remind me of him.

What a beautiful (but sad) story from your childhood…I’m glad that you do have at least some memories of your grandfather, even if they’re of long drives and bowls of cherry pits I’m sure he would’ve loved that gorgeous, gorgeous cake!

So glad that you have memories of your grandpa and know that he loved you. I can still here my grampa’s voice when he called me Little Lynnie. Your cake is beautiful. I’m sure your grandpa would have loved it.

My grandfather, too, loved drives in the car. Of course cars were a bit of a rarity back then — not everyone had a car, or two cars like many families do now. And even though those drives were boring for a little kid, I’d give anything to have one more day driving around with my grandfather now. Thanks for reminding me.

That was a completely different generation. Showing emotion had not been taught to them so they didn’t know how to do it themselves. My grandfather didn’t speak much either but he always had a smile on his face and he always wanted us to tell him stories about school and out friends. he would just listen and smile.
When I was younger I also hated car rides with adults that weren’t my parents. I always felt tense and bored and car sick….
Anyhow, but I wanted to tell you that the bundt cake looks really really good and you made it for a very good cause. thanks for sharing!

For a moment there I read “Enjoy the snow”..and the cake was dusted with snow powdered sugar …so that was making sense until I continued to read. Great story about your grandfather and sad at the same time. You know I wholeheartedly approve of your philosophy! The cakes look wonderful!

Beautiful post, Peabody, and a very important message! I try to instill this in my daughter all the time (especially when we are arguing). When you’re a kid, you think everyone is immortal and nothing ever changes, but we’re not and they do.

I know you’ve said previously that sometimes your mom gets uncomfortable when you tell family stories, but I hope you continue to do so, I really enjoy them. Of course, I love the food and photography, too, but hearing it in the context of the family story elevates them to another level altogether. Thank you.

Your grandfather sounds a lot like one of my dearest friends’ father.. that’s all he says too, “uh huh”. It’s amazing though, that you still know how much they love you even though they don’t speak the words or give the hugs often.

The cake looks amazing.. and my guess would be that he’d say a lil more than “uh huh” if he had a slice of it. This was so nice to read.

I realize you posted this a long time ago, but I just made the cake this past weekend. It was incredible! It is the first recipe I’ve tried from your blog and I can promise you I will be trying many more.

Welcome

Hi I’m Peabody (yep, that’s my first name) and welcome to my site! Here you will find a whole lot of yummy recipes (mostly baking and dessert), positive body image promotion, telling it like it is, and the random things that make up my life. Thanks for stopping by! {More…}